Icons bring an aesthetic touch. I know in KOTC I identified spells by their icons, particularly those on the frequent list. In large battles in particular, the ability to quickly identify and select a spell at a glance saves time and actually adds pleasing ritual to the game. Reading a menu is reading a menu and there is nothing endearing about it.

I'm sure there are artists among those waiting for KOTC2 that would contribute icons if the engine supports it!

Re: Poll: item and weapon icons

But it's not like KotC. This game will probably have more than 500 spells and it will not be low resolution.Shouldn't we be thinking about ways to simplify the game so that development can be finished quicker, rather than thinking about extra features?

'Say there is a chunk of meat. Pirates will have a banquet and eat it! But heroes will share it with other people. I want all the meat!!' - Luffy in One Piece

BlueSalamander wrote:But it's not like KotC. This game will probably have more than 500 spells and it will not be low resolution.Shouldn't we be thinking about ways to simplify the game so that development can be finished quicker, rather than thinking about extra features?

Of course, it is more important to release and I am all for an earlier release . Also, 500 icons would be absurd! An icon per "family" might still be useful and meaningful.

Out of curiosity, can you share your views or thoughts on community content creation/addition? Do you see room for user created artwork or custom scripting in their own modules?

First I think it's great that you are allowing us in a little on how you are going about building your game, so thanks for that!

What are your thoughts on inviting fans to submit artwork for things like icons? A competition or "Unity like" effort to collect art assets submitted by supporters may be a good way to have some of this work done without requiring your time. Maybe one icon to start to help gauge the value of such a thing. Submitters would need instructions on colour pallet, dimensions, image properties, file format.

Do you see room for user created artwork or custom scripting in their own modules?

Sure, that's one of the reasons why there will be a module editor. You'll be able to do your own scripts and add your own pictures for monsters, characters, weapons, armour, items, cut-scenes and map backdrops.

An icon per "family" might still be useful and meaningful.

Maybe, but I can't see how that would work out.

What are your thoughts on inviting fans to submit artwork for things like icons?

Mm, icons for what? Spells? Monsters? I just think it's better to have the artist do all the base artwork. Do you think many people would submit art and give up their rights to it?

'Say there is a chunk of meat. Pirates will have a banquet and eat it! But heroes will share it with other people. I want all the meat!!' - Luffy in One Piece

I'm not really sure why inventory items are such a puzzle. You don't need a unique icon for every single item. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, you have two sword icons, one small one large, in 12 different colors. The colors represent *some* of the different attributes. The player can get the rest of the information from the text description. The icon acts as a quick reference to remind the player what he already knows (that he's carrying a frostblade +2), and to distinguish it from his plain longsword. If he has a frostblade +2 and a frostblade +3 and they use the same icon, he'll just have to check the description. But most of the time icons are going to be a big help.

If you're suggesting dropping inventory icons altogether, I'd call that a very bold (or foolish) move and I'd like to see how you're going to implement it.